Backyard Series: Intro to Fruit Trees

Cost: Based on your ability to pay. Workshop fees go to support the Center for Agroecology. Please select the price that works for you.

This workshop will focus on fruit tree care and management, especially for those who are looking to establish and/or care for their fruit trees using organic methods. Although we will be demonstrating on a home garden scale, the techniques and methods are applicable at multiple scales—the basics are the same.

This hands-on workshop will cover:

• The run up to planting (site, sun, soil)
• Assessing and improving your soil
• Sourcing quality trees
• Planting bare root trees
• Post plant care
• A Q&A session

About the Speaker

This workshop is led by Matthew Sutton from Orchard Keepers. After four years of apprenticing in sustainable agriculture on farms in Tuscany and Wisconsin, Matthew completed his training at the Center for Agroecology in Santa Cruz in 2004. It was this last year at the UCSC Farm that Matthew fell decidedly in love with fruit trees. Orchard Keepers was formed in late 2004. The goal was to enhance local landscapes and help shift the paradigm of landscape use towards one of ecological stewardship and support the local food environment. For 20 years now, Orchard Keepers has been designing, installing and maintaining landscapes of all sizes, while care for the home orchard is at the heart of all that Orchard Keepers does. Matthew brings these 20 years of fruit tree experience to the classes he teaches and to each of the sites Orchard Keepers tends to.

The event will take place on Saturday, January 11 2025, from 9:30am to 12:00pm, and will meet at the UCSC Farm on the UCSC Campus. If it rains heavily on the day of the workshop, we will reschedule for January 25, 2025. Pre-registration is required for this workshop. Email accommodation requests to agroecology.ucsc.edu.

Presented by the Friends of the UCSC Farm & Garden. Members receive a 10% discount on workshop costs. Learn more about becoming a member and sign up at: https://agroecology.ucsc.edu/get-involved/join-the-friends/index.html

Photo credit: Jim Clark